Thesis Defense

Yesterday, I finally defended my thesis. It's official, I'm a master of biology. I presented my thesis work to to the biology department (all graduate students and professors were invited to attend). After the presentation, it was opened to questions. Anyone could ask me anything. Somethings I knew...some I didn't. Then I went into a separate conference room with my committee members and they asked me specific questions regarding my thesis work and made suggestions for improvement. After the 2 hour ordeal (an hour to present and an hour with my committee), they asked me to leave the room as they discussed among themselves. Dr. Watson called me back and stretched out his hand and said, "Congratulations, you passed. You're a master." I shook hands with rest of the committee members as they congratulated me. And then...I think I flew home. If I didn't actually fly, I certainly felt like I could have.

The journey of graduate school has been the best educational experience of my life. I started off clueless hardly even able to read a scientific paper. I began doing experiments I didn't even understand, but slowly the things started to become clear. My mind began to comprehend at the level of a protein and the discovery of very small pieces of a very big puzzle became so exciting. The final process of analyzing the two years of data I'd collected was more difficult but more rewarding than I expected. I began to see patterns in the different aspects of my research and produced a model for how all the pieces could possibly function coherently. Yesterday, I had a coming out ceremony in the scientific community. But for me, It was so much more. It was the culmination of a journey that has produce in me a way of thinking that I didn't know existed. I'm so grateful for the past three years. I started graduate school for many different reason, one of which was I didn't know what else to do. Looking back it was the right thing to do. I'm better for it.